Mary Lou McDonald refuses to apologise over remarks on new PSNI chief constable

The Sinn Fein president said she would not be retracting her controversial comments about who should replace George Hamilton when he steps down in June.

“There’s nothing to apologise for, there’s no retraction to be made,” said Mrs McDonald, dismissing criticism of her remarks as “political huffing and puffing”.

The PSNI’s oversight body – the Policing Board – is responsible for appointing the chief constable. And a Sinn Fein appointee will be on the board panel that makes the decision.

The republican leader said she would have “no role” in appointing the Province’s next police chief and insisted the Sinn Fein representative on the recruitment panel would act in accordance with the rules and regulations.

The Police Federation representative body has demanded an apology from Mrs McDonald, while her comments have also sparked a wave of condemnation from political rivals, who claim she has compromised the recruitment process.

Condemning the Sinn Fein leaders comments as “an outrageous generalisation”, DUP Policing Board member Mervyn Storey MLA said he has written to the chief executive of the board to seek legal advice about the matter.

UUP Policing Board member Alan Chambers MLA commented: “Unless Sinn Fein’s representatives on the Policing Board publicly disassociate themselves from their party leader’s comments, doubts will inevitably arise as to their ability to act impartially in terms of senior staff appointments.”

TUV leader Jim Allister said Mrs McDonald’s comments had “blown apart the myth of republican support for police and the rule of law in Northern Ireland”.

He added: “If the public are to have any confidence in this appointment process Sinn Fein should have no say on the selection board for the new chief constable.”

The body that oversees equality laws in Northern Ireland – the Equality Commission – has also voiced concern about Mrs McDonald’s remarks.

On Monday in Belfast, the Sinn Fein president said she would not have confidence in any current member of the PSNI’s senior leadership team taking the helm of the organisation.

Her comments came after she met bereaved families caught up in a controversy involving the PSNI’s failure to disclose documents about historic killings to Northern Ireland’s police ombudsman.

“On the issue of the chief constable, I have no role in the appointment of a chief constable,” the Sinn Fein president said yesterday afternoon.

“I was asked could I identify someone from the senior team who I thought ought to be chief (constable) and the truth is I can’t.

“Be clear on this, I am not going to decide who the chief constable is. Yes, we make appointments to the Policing Board and when people are appointed to the Policing Board they act in accordance with the statutory scheme, the rules and regulations – the letter of them.”

The original comments came during a press conference in south Belfast during which she claimed the PSNI had “zero credibility” in its handling of cases linked to the legacy of the Troubles.

Those remarks followed revelations last week about the PSNI’s initial failure to disclose “significant information” to police ombudsman investigators looking into the handling of a UFF mass shooting case on the Ormeau Road in February 1992 in which five men were killed.

Deputy Chief Constable Stephen Martin made a public apology on behalf of the police.

Meanwhile, the Criminal Justice Inspectorate (CJI) is to review the PSNI’s disclosure methods following the police ombudsman controversy.

Chief inspector of criminal justice Brendan McGuigan pledged to prioritise the work with a report due in six months.